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Bleckley Inn of Court

Bleckley Inn of Court

A chapter of the American Inns of Court, the Logan E. Bleckley Inn of Court is an organization of Atlanta area trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the promotion of ethics and professionalism in trial practice.

Established in 1990, the Bleckley Inn is one of five Inns of Court in Georgia. The membership in each Inn is limited and by invitation only. The Inn consists of three groups: the "Masters" (accomplished judges and trial lawyers), "Barristers" (promising trial lawyers with 4-6 years of experience) and "Pupils" (outstanding third year students from Georgia State University, College of Law).

The Bleckley Inn presents six programs for its members each year on current litigation topics and runs a mentoring program for its Barristers and Pupils.

About Logan Edwin Bleckley

Updated: October 5, 2009, 8:08 pm

Logan Edwin Bleckley was born near Clayton in Rabun County, Georgia on July 3, 1827. His father was clerk of three courts: the Superior, Inferior, and Ordinary. At age eleven Bleckley worked as an assistant in his father's office, where he realized his passion for the law. It was there that a young Bleckley began his study of the law and, completely self-taught, was admitted to the Georgia Bar at age nineteen.

Prior to opening a law office in Atlanta in 1852, Bleckley was appointed Secretary to the Governor. Shortly thereafter in 1853, Bleckley was elected solicitor-general for the Coweta Circuit where he practiced until he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. After his discharge, he attended to the Confederacy's legal affairs in Atlanta. In 1864, Bleckley was appointed Supreme Court Reporter, and he reported the 34th and 35th volumes. He resumed his private practice in 1867. Bleckley served as Associate Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court from 1875 through 1879, and as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court from 1887 through 1894. He died in Clarksville, Georgia on March 6, 1907.

Judge Bleckley was an imposing figure at over six feet tall with his hair to his shoulders and a long beard. In addition to his study of the law, he was a poet, philosopher and mathematician. In one tribute to Judge Bleckley, the author notes that his biography lacks the events and incidents that fill most biographies, but that it was Bleckley the man that was interesting, not what he did. Though his term on the bench did not include particularly exciting political or constitutional issues, Judge Bleckley's peculiar power was to make plain that which was confused and to make simple that which was difficult. His style was one of simplicity, and his goal was to seek what he called the "justice of the justice" of the case. His national reputation as a great judge rests upon the solidity of his learning, his profound knowledge of the law, and the value of his opinions contained in the Georgia Reports. Judge Bleckley was remembered upon his death for his great intellect and his search for the Truth in the law, a subject upon which he enunciated his philosophy in an address to the Georgia Bar Association:

"Law is the scripture of Justice, the gospel of Right, and Truth is the minister at its altars. Error is a pretender to holy orders, a wolf in sheep's clothing, always striving to usurp the sacred office, or to share in the exercise of its functions. To exclude Error from the sanctuary, and to admit and keep Truth within it, are objects of sedulous endeavor in every system of enlightened jurisprudence."